Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: jumpin on August 01, 2010, 09:40:12 AM
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Any new news on the willapa hills hoof rot problems ?
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Hunted out there three years in a row never seen one case. I've heard of it in the north eastern section of the willapa unit though.
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It was really bad 2 years ago in the northern part of the unit. Last year it wasn't too bad. This year I haven't seen it too much. 2 years ago a lot of the bulls that had it got killed.
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"Elf foot?" I was expecting some bizarre thread.... :chuckle:
Glad to hear the hoof rot has lessened, was wondering this myself. A friend's bull taken in Ryderwood in the 2008 season was really bad and not edible.
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"Elf foot?" I was expecting some bizarre thread.... :chuckle:
me too I was kinda scared to look!
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"Elf foot?" I was expecting some bizarre thread.... :chuckle:
Glad to hear the hoof rot has lessened, was wondering this myself. A friend's bull taken in Ryderwood in the 2008 season was really bad and not edible.
Ya a lot of bulls went to waste in 2008 cause of hoof rot. It's a shame... its gotta suck to lose all that meat that you worked so hard for. :bash:
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if the leg has hoof rot and is all gnarly, is it safe to eat any of the bull? ive heard stories about the elk out there getting crippled by that hoof rot , and am not sure about eating the meat. what do you do?
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Depends on how bad it is. Ive eaten animals with it. but it was just the hoof. just sorta didnt take meat from that quarter. In 2008 i only saw one bull taken that couldnt be salvaged. That guy stank. :o
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I posted on another thread, but the elk in the Coweeman unit have been hit hard this year. The cows thatwere infected were all nursing calves though. I personally have never seen a harvested animal with hoof rot, but I'm pretty sure Ill get an up close look this year. Its so bad that some elk weren't even using the leg that was disfigured, walking around like tri pods. :( :( :( :( :( Makes me sad. Im sure the WDFW is doing all they can...............Yeah right. Wolves would probably solve all the problems....Just ask them environmental Wackydoos. At least 2/3 of a 30 elk herd were infected in a lower valley, but it doesn't seem to be as big of a problem at higher elevations...so far.
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Winston must have it I took a Cow last year with one bad front foot that was crazy looking. but she tasted so good on the BBQ
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Good to hear it may be getting better in the Willapa area but sounds like it's in the surrounding areas as well. I don't know a bunch about it.. What causes it?? Is it contagious or can be passed from one animal to another??
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KimberRich...do a search on hoof rot or something similar. There was at least one thread from last year that had a fair amount of detailed info on the causes of hoof rot and its impact to the animals.
I saw an animal taken in Ryderwood a couple years ago that had hoof rot on the front foot. Meat looked and smelled fine. I helped pack it out and the shooter gave me the heart which tasted fine.
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I heard about a cow with hoof rot taken this year by a permit holder in the Toledo elk area I believe.
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This is what I found on hoof rot.
Possible causes of elk hoof rot include nutritional deficiencies, dietary changes and either decreased activity or more walking on soft soils, Mansfield wrote in a paper on the subject.
Smith said his research suggests overpopulation and lack of nutrition are causing the hoof rot.
Smith and other members of the Mount St. Helens Preservation Society feed elk at Eco Park during winter months.
Last winter, an elk that could barely walk improved after several weeks of getting hay.
But the WDFW isn't ready to suggest how elk can recovery without more research.
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2009/11/21/801781/hoof-rot-plagues-some-elk.html#ixzz0wzRcLg5l (http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2009/11/21/801781/hoof-rot-plagues-some-elk.html#ixzz0wzRcLg5l)
Sounds like they don't have a clue. Hunters are the answer IMO.
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Ryderwood was really bad a couple years ago, hunted with a buddy and his kid and seen heards after heards with the limp, the snow was covered in blood from it, we ended up taking a cow and it had it a little bit, the meat was fine.. you can tell when its bad because it will be all green.. It is a bacteria in the ground they walk in, it generally comes from livestock "cows" and it spreads pretty bad.. they all walk the same trails in the farmers fields and thats how a majority of it spread so bad in the Ryderwood.. I imagine the same everywhere else it has hit.. I hunt the South end of the Willipa and havent seen any elk with the limp, so thats a good sign... Its a nasty deal.. Sounds like its getting better though..
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My Brother inlaws party took 5 out of East vally last year and all had hoof rot and black rotten antlers.....(you could push your thumb nail into the antler) This was the second year they killed Elk in that condition.
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Saw one limping in willapa valley this past weekend.
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me, my dad and grandpa had a muzzleloader cow special permit for boisfort this last janurary and the hoof rot was horrible. I kept seing the same heard of twenty in the same field every morning and all but two were limpers. they couldnt run it was kind of sad to see. we had numerous opportunities to shot one in this herd but we were skeptical so we let them go. We say 30-70 elk a day for two weeks and i would say half of those were limping, with one herd having two great legal bulls that limped. Once we were able to find some elk off the valley floor they were fine. It was a hard hunt to stomach really.
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I ate some last September you should see my toe nails. Seriously keep this subject alive guys I still think this is something everyone should know about.
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Saw on last year that was shot in the Ryderwood unit that had some real bad hoof rot,
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Near South bend there were several bulls that had it. They hang out in the Sloughs and are always in the mud.
